Restaurant Report: 50 Kalò in Naples, Italy

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Ciro Salvo making pizza at 50 Kalò.CreditCreditLuciano Furia

By Katie Parla

Aug. 12, 2014

Competition among pizzerias is fierce in Italy’s undisputed pizza capital, Naples. For decades, institutions have reigned, attracting loyal admirers with their cheap pies and no-frills atmosphere. But recently, that pre-eminence has been challenged by pizzerias seeking to transform the humble native dish into a gourmet product made with top-notch ingredients.

At 50 Kalò, a pizzeria that opened in February in the prosperous Mergellina district, the celebrated third-generation pizzaiolo Ciro Salvo, who got his start in his family’s pizzeria nearly three decades ago, claims improving the city’s pizza supply demands greater attention to the dough. 50 Kalò translates roughly to “good dough” in Neapolitan dialect (the literal translation has to do with a lucky number and a slang term for “good”). Mr. Salvo’s recipe is the product of years of research, and the result is some of the best pizza in Italy. Mr. Salvo’s pies score high marks for their flavor, but their lightness is what inspires nightly crowds.

When discussing what sets his dough apart from his competitors, Mr. Salvo sounds more like a chemist than a pizzaiolo. “By achieving high hydration and by using low-protein flours,” he said, “we make a dough that is more digestible than the traditional pizzerias.”

Though Naples has a reputation for flawless pizza, Maurizio Cortese, a consultant at 50 Kalò who has been documenting the city’s pizza scene in the press for a decade, disagrees. “It’s only recently that truly high-quality pizza is being made here again,” he said. “Naples’s historic pizzerias were using mediocre ingredients and low-quality vegetable oils.”

50 Kalò sources its extra virgin olive oil from Don Alfonso 1890, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant on the Amalfi Coast. Other raw ingredients, from heirloom tomatoes to heritage pork salamis, are culled from small regional farms.

The restaurant, divided among two dining rooms and a patio, offers classics like marinara and margherita, but Mr. Salvo also features seasonal pizzas like zucchini pesto with prosciutto, and one with squash blossoms with Nero Casertano salami. The White Calzone, a crescent filled with cured pork, ricotta and smoked provolone, is a year-round fixture so stunningly light that not ordering a pizza to follow it might be your only regret.

Correction:Aug. 13, 2014

An earlier version of this article misstated Maurizio Cortese’s role with 50 Kalò. He is a consultant, not a co-owner.

50 Kalò, Piazza Sannazzaro 201/B, Naples; 39-081-1920-4667. Dinner for two, without drinks and tip, is about 20 euros, $26 at $1.32 to the euro.